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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Does my butt look FLAT in the shorts?: Running, weak glutes, and injury

I wouldn't say this if we weren't all a bunch of runners
here. I am not proud of it, but here it is: I have weak glutes. I know what you
are probably thinking. "Oh how sad. I never would have guessed. She hides it well." I know, but it is
true. Apparently not only has the rest of my body known for a long time, but it
has been compensating and covering it up until finally it had enough. My body
staged a glute intervention.

I was totally shocked. I always thought that my lower abs were the slackers in
the group. I mean every time I checked, they seemed to be the ones that were
hanging around looking kind of flabby. I was probably partly deceived by the
compression shorts, which hide a multitude of sins, but also truthfully, I was
not really watching the glutes. I mean, they usually lurk back there out of
sight and always seemed to be behaving when I bothered to check on them. How
was I to know that when I wasn't looking they were apparently guzzling beer,
eating powdered donuts, and watching Nickelodeon reruns on television while the
rest of us were out there trying to run.

I didn't always have this problem. In fact, I used to have
strong hard-working glutes. I know because before I started running (many, many
years ago), I had done several years of serious weight training. If I remember
correctly, I think I was squatting and leg pressing somewhere around one and a
half times my body weight. I am pretty sure my glutes were not lazing around
back then. However, obviously at some point, they decided that they just
weren't that into the whole running thing.

Actually I think what happened is that I gave them the wrong
impression about their importance in my life. You see most of the time (pretty
much the entire day except when I am running), I sit. I just tell those glutes
that they really aren't needed, put them on a cushy recliner (yes, with my new
laptop, and since the spleen recovery, I do most of my work in a recliner -- I
don't even bother with the office chair anymore), and pretty much ignore them.
I guess the running just wasn't doing it for them and keeping them stimulated. I
mean they are big muscles, meant for activity. I guess like big dogs, they just
need more exercise.

Dr. Tom:
Banisher of the weak glutes

Well, as most of you know, the upshot of all this is that I
am injured. I went to a very knowledgeable chiropractor and active release guy who
immediately spotted the problem. His name is Dr. Tom Livermore,
and he is a runner (He did the Lansing marathon today as a training run in
3:41, even with stopping to talk to his patients along the way -- Go Dr. Tom!!). If any of you have running injuries and live in Lansing, he
is the guy to see in my book. Here is how he explained the problem to me (well
not exactly, I took a little poetic license):.

When the glutes gave out, the quads started compensating.
When they got tired of doing all the work, they turned it over to the tensor fascia lata (TFL),
which apparently is a little pip squeak of a muscle that is not supposed to be
doing heavy duty work. It started tugging on the IT band, who ultimately
decided to blow the whistle on the whole scheme, which it did at Green Swamp.
It did give me a few warnings earlier in the season, but I didn't listen. You know how that whole denial thing is.
Plus, I didn't really think it was anything serious. I really just thought my
IT band was being a bit of a baby about the whole thing. I had no idea the
quads and TFL were involved. In fact, I never even knew I had a TFL.

When I think about it, though, the warning signs were
probably there long before I had a
problem. For the last several years, even when I was aerobically fit and
running fast, I felt weak. In fact, several times I mentioned that I just
"didn't feel strong" when I was out there running. I would weight
train sporadically at those times, maybe start to feel a little better, and
then stop and go back to more running. In hindsight, that was not a good plan.

So now that I know what is going on back there, it is time
for heavy rehab. First Dr. Tom prescribed therapy for the poor stressed out quads
and the poor little TFL. In addition to their sessions with Dr. Tom, they required many sessions with the foam roller to
deal with the trauma of being overworked for so long. There were a lot of tears
involved in that therapy, let me tell you.

Now, it is on to those lazy glutes. This is a little
tougher. You know what they say. Change doesn't come unless you really want it.
Well, truthfully, I don't think the glutes are sold on this whole change thing.
I think they like being lazy. This is going to be a long term process to change
their habits. Unfortunately the process will be hindered because they still
have to spend several hours a day around those bad influences, the office chair
and recliner.

Again Dr. Tom came to the rescue with a series of exercises
for me to do to work on the buns. These include the famous clam,
with resistance bands, as well as bridges,
and side steps with resistance. More, of course, will be forthcoming as I
continue to work on the problem.

In addition, I have added a few exercises of my own. They
came from the book Brain Training for Runners,
which is one of my favorite new books on training right now. It is about the
physiological (rather than psychological) connection between the brain and body
in running. It is a little heavy on the physiology for some people, but
incredibly interesting. The author, Matt Fitzgerald, is big on stressing the importance
of strengthening the glutes, deep abdominals, and hip stabilizers in his
programs. Unlike many running training programs, his running programs prescribe
a minimum of two training workouts a week for these muscles. His programs also
involve a graduated strengthening program for the muscles that help make sure
that the strength training progresses just as the run training does. While I am
not following his running training program for my next marathon, I am planning
to incorporate his strengthening exercises into my program.

Finally, because I am a little "off," as I will
gladly admit, I have also added an oldie but goodie to my workout. I dragged
out a copy of the old Buns of Steel workout. Yes, that original classic from
the '80s, with the big hair, bright exercise clothes, and cheesy commentary
from Greg Smithey (who, by the way, used to be a pole vaulter, which is kind of
connected to running...). I have put that in the rotation for days when my buns
just don't feel like Dr. Tom's serious workout and need a little laugh therapy. There is nothing
like giggling at the campy 80s video to help get your buns through the burn. (But don't tell Dr. Tom!)

What does this all mean to you? Well, this is a cautionary
tale. You may be running along down the road assuming that your glutes are back
there working away when really they are on a vacay to the Bahamas. I mean, do
you really know what they are doing back there while you are checking out the scenery?
If you have not been keeping an eye on your glutes, you might want to start.
You also might want to start working a few glute exercises into your running
routine. If not, you may want to bookmark, Dr. Tom's site. Chances are good if
you don't take care of your glutes, that there may be a running injury in your
future.